Collapse, I'll Transform and Punch You Directly Chapter 9

Bai Chen was a bit confused. What next? Should he master it?

Suddenly, Bai Chen felt something change in the air around him. It was as if the air had become distorted, emitting a faint purple glow.

"!!!"

The sudden, intense pain caught Bai Chen completely off guard, forcing him to his knees. At that moment, he noticed that the hands supporting his body had turned a grayish-white.

Is this a joke? Am I going to turn into a Husk? I was fine in Changkong City, and now I'm going to become a Husk here?!

The fear of death washed over him instantly. Bai Chen hurriedly activated his transformation, attempting to turn into Kiana or Kallen to evade the damage. However, it was completely ineffective. His transformation ability was unresponsive, as if it had been disconnected.

"No! Don't! I have things to do, I don't want to die!"

Bai Chen stared fearfully as the grayish-white color spread, the intense pain causing spasms that prevented him from speaking properly. His posture, previously kneeling, collapsed into a heap on the ground like a pile of mud.

"Bai Chen! What's happening?!"

"What? How can there be such a high concentration of Honkai energy?!"

The other two consciousnesses within Bai Chen finally noticed the situation outside. Weren't we just in St. Freya's dormitory? How did we suddenly appear in this strange place?

Could it be because of Bai Chen's special ability?

"It's too late."

Fu Hua looked regretfully at Bai Chen's completely grayish-white body. She had finally found a partner, only for him to disappear so quickly.

Bai Chen slumped powerlessly onto the ground, watching his hands begin to turn to ash. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. He had boasted so much, he wanted to find a family, he had so many things he wanted to do...

Following that, Bai Chen's body, like embers blown by the wind, dissipated without a trace.

The protagonist, deceased.

No, Bai Chen's consciousness had not disappeared at all. At the moment he turned to ash, his consciousness extended a branch from another dimension. Under the influence of this space, the ashes were gathered and condensed into a brand new body.

"What happened?"

Everything that had just occurred had severely impacted Kallen and Fu Hua's worldview. They couldn't understand what was happening before their eyes.

Bai Chen, his body newly reformed, discovered that some key points about manipulating Honkai energy had popped up on his system panel. A bad thought flashed through his mind: What if I can't learn this and keep respawning in this room forever?!

The excessively concentrated Honkai energy wouldn't wait for Bai Chen. The pain of being eroded by the Honkai was about to engulf his entire body again!

"Ugh!!"

Unable to bear it, Bai Chen curled up again, attempting to follow the tutorial on the panel to manipulate the Honkai energy. But he found he couldn't operate it at all.

Setting aside the operational aspect, Bai Chen's adaptability to Honkai energy in the face of this magnitude of energy was like a dog trying to pull an elephant – completely futile, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Before he could even move any of the Honkai energy, its powerful corrosive ability pulverized his body into dust.

In a short while, Bai Chen once again turned to ash, just like last time, and immediately reconstructed a new body.

Kallen and Fu Hua could do nothing but worry. Fu Hua had wanted to use her feathers to help Bai Chen control the Honkai energy, but her feathers were completely unresponsive. Kallen couldn't even exchange consciousness with Bai Chen right now.

"Damn it! Control! Control it for me!"

"Why! Why can't I adapt!!"

"I don't want to! Please! I won't learn!!!"

Bai Chen didn't know how many times he had died and reformed, losing track of time in this eternal, agonizing space. He regretted drawing that skill from the lottery.

He wanted to go out and eat Mei's breakfast, play games with Kiana and Bronya, go back to school. Why did he have to be so reckless and draw that damned prize!

From the perspective of an observer, even Bai Chen hadn't noticed that although his control proficiency hadn't increased, the speed of his death was gradually slowing down.

Fu Hua, who had been watching the entire time, couldn't help but speculate that perhaps through continuous reconstruction, his resistance to Honkai energy was slowly increasing.

Chapter Seventeen: Completion

In his confused consciousness, Bai Chen vaguely saw the memories of the Herrscher of Flamescion. Was it because he had transformed into her before?

In the memories, Bai Chen relived the time after "The Last Lesson" from Kiana's first-person perspective, the days when she had to fulfill her promise with Himeko alone.

Was Kiana also enduring this kind of pain back then?

Kiana finally overcame the nightmares in her heart and surpassed herself. What about him? Didn't he want to protect Kiana?

But with the transformation cheat, as long as he improved steadily, he would eventually be stronger than the Herrscher of the End Kiana. Did he really need to draw system skills?

He needed to!

No one knew what the future would hold! Just like Welt Yang didn't expect to be involved in battles of the level of Aeons in the future!

What if he encountered an existence stronger than the Herrscher of the End in the future? Could a mere "main body" that was only slightly stronger than the Herrscher of the End truly help Kiana?

Did he know the strength of the extraterrestrial visitors?

He wouldn't run away! Because he knew them! Kiana, Himeko, Mei, even Otto – none of them ever ran away!

He wanted to change the world into what he desired!

As Bai Chen's body reformed, purple-pink flames ignited around him. There was not a single impurity in the flames. From a distance, it looked as if his body was encased in flame-like glass.

The flames abruptly exploded after a period of time, revealing Bai Chen's body, which was as white as jade. Bai Chen opened his eyes, revealing purple-pink pupils like gemstones.

Even his previously black hair had purple-pink streaks in the bangs, which flickered like flames, as if condensed from the recent fire.

Bai Chen raised his hands to look at his pale, jade-like arms and fell into thought. Now that he had calmed down, he could clearly feel the Honkai energy erosion slowing down, and even...

"Bai Chen?"

Fu Hua's voice echoed in Bai Chen's mind.

"Class monitor? Did you guys follow me in too?"

Only then did Bai Chen notice Fu Hua and Kallen were anxiously calling him.

"That's great, Bai Chen, you've finally calmed down and can hear us."

Kallen was relieved when Bai Chen was no longer in a daze. Having been in this space for so long, she had a rough idea of the situation.

"Listen, Bai Chen. Based on my observations, your current Honkai resistance is sufficient to withstand the Honkai concentration here. Next, I will teach you some techniques for manipulating Honkai energy."

Seeing the large characters in the sky, Fu Hua naturally did not hold back and began to impart some of her experiences over the years to Bai Chen.

Fu Hua's fifty thousand years of experience was far more powerful than the system's beginner tutorial. Bai Chen immediately began to manipulate the Honkai energy within his body according to Fu Hua's instructions.

Kallen also benefited greatly from being on the side. As expected of a divine land immortal, even with amnesia, her experience was not something a five-hundred-year-old girl could compare to.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Chen heard birds chirping outside the window and got out of bed. He looked out the window at the gradually rising sun as if he had been through a lifetime.

Even the most common sun gave Bai Chen a sense of unfamiliarity. It had been too long; he had spent too much time in that space.

But even though so much time had passed, why hadn't his body grown at all?

As Bai Chen went out, intending to eat breakfast before class, he found everyone in the living room staring at him with wide eyes.

"Bai Chen, what happened to you, kid?"

Himeko walked up to Bai Chen with a hint of worry. Bai Chen seemed like a different person after one night. Not only had his skin tone changed, but even his hair color had undergone some changes.

Bai Chen seemed to have gained a new transformation ability yesterday. Was this new ability the cause of the changes? Seeing Bai Chen's haggard appearance, Himeko was now worried about Bai Chen's physical condition.

"No, it's okay, Teacher Himeko. It's just that my abilities have undergone some changes."

Bai Chen looked at the system panel's skills section and indeed found some new additions.

[Skills: Advanced Honkai Energy Manipulation, Advanced Honkai Resistance]

"No! I have to go check!"

Himeko pulled Bai Chen out. As his guardian, she couldn't ignore him just because he seemed fine. She wouldn't be at ease until she investigated thoroughly.

"Hey, I haven't eaten breakfast yet!"

Bai Chen reached for the breakfast Mei had prepared. He had missed Mei's cooking terribly while he was in that space.

"It's good that you haven't eaten. You can eat after the test."

Himeko ignored Bai Chen's protests and forcibly dragged him towards St. Freya's medical department.

Bronya, sitting at the table, recalled the flame-like streaks in Bai Chen's hair and took a sip of her porridge thoughtfully, saying softly:

"Cool."

As it turned out, Bai Chen's body showed no adverse effects. In fact, his weight had even decreased slightly compared to the last test.

After reading the report, Himeko finally felt relieved. Then, seeing Bai Chen sitting innocently in the chair, staring blankly and chewing on a piece of bread, she couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. She had seen his ashen face in the morning, only to find his data healthier than anyone else's.

"See? Go to class quickly!"

Himeko playfully slapped Bai Chen on the back and went off to attend to her own business. Bai Chen had no choice but to reluctantly run off to class.

The day passed uneventfully. Taking advantage of the last history class of the day, Bai Chen told Mei he had something to do and then stealthily followed Old Yang.

At first, nothing unusual happened. Old Yang only stopped when they reached a small grove.

"Student Bai Chen, it's after school. Are there any problems you need to ask me about?"

It wasn't surprising that Old Yang noticed Bai Chen. After all, he never expected to hide that well; he was caught almost every time he tried to follow someone.

Bai Chen walked out with a smile, saying helplessly:

"Teacher Yang, right? I've been observing you for a long time. Did you really think you were hiding well? I've discovered your hidden identity."

Hearing Bai Chen's words, Welt Yang's eyes became dangerous, hidden by his bangs.

Welt Yang, having been undercover for some time, knew the person in front of him. Bai Chen possessed a strange ability that even bore some resemblance to the Herrscher of Reason's authority. It wasn't surprising that he had discovered his undercover identity.

Just as Old Yang was contemplating whether to subdue Bai Chen first, Bai Chen's next words interrupted him.

"You've been hiding your identity as the author of 'Honkai: Star Rail Adventure', haven't you!"

"?"

Chapter 18: Teacher Yang, You Don't Want This Either

Old Yang was completely taken aback by Bai Chen's sudden outburst. He had been about to make a move on Bai Chen, but this completely caught Old Yang off guard.

"Hehe, Teacher Yang, you wouldn't want anyone to know you're the author of 'Honkai: Star Rail Adventure', right? The Headmaster is furious about the two hiatuses."

Bai Chen rubbed his hands together and leaned closer to Old Yang, smiling as he watched Old Yang's reaction.

"Agh! Being an undercover agent at the academy and having manga fans demanding updates is too much! If Theresa, that shorty, finds out, she'll definitely give me a hard time!"

"Bai Chen, please calm down. Don't say strange things."

Old Yang broke out in a cold sweat, looking at Bai Chen. He felt like this guy was a bit too much.

"If you don't want others to know, then help me catch up on my studies! I heard that Teacher Yang is also top-notch in science subjects!"

Bai Chen took out the science textbooks from his satchel. He had a make-up exam in a few days and wasn't confident in his science subjects!

Why is this happening? He's not demanding updates? Old Yang had thought Bai Chen was coming to demand updates when he saw him make such a big fuss. He was relieved when he realized it wasn't about updates.

"Bai Chen, this is something a teacher should do. Even if you didn't threaten me, I would still help you."

"So, are you really the author of Honkai: Star Rail Adventure?"

"Uh..."

Bai Chen then followed Old Yang to his dorm. Afterward, Bai Chen discovered that Old Yang's room was surprisingly simple.

He had initially thought that with Old Yang's rebellious personality, his room would at least have a few posters of super robots.

Then, Old Yang began teaching Bai Chen.

As expected of the Herrscher of Reason, huh? Those abstract concepts became easy to understand under Old Yang's explanation. If it continued like this, he should be able to pass his make-up exams.

Time flew by as he focused on studying. It was almost nine o'clock. If he didn't go back soon, Himeko would notice. He didn't know why Himeko paid so much attention to him; Kiana wasn't even reprimanded that many times.

"Thank you very much, Teacher Yang!"

"You're welcome. It's a teacher's duty."

During their one-on-one tutoring session, Old Yang discovered that Bai Chen was surprisingly intelligent. Then why was his knowledge so pitifully lacking? It was a contradiction. Coupled with Bai Chen's special abilities, Old Yang became increasingly curious about him.

At that moment, Old Yang noticed Bai Chen hadn't left. Instead, he was awkwardly standing there, unsure of what to do.